Two unseeded Americans, Sebastian Korda and Alex Michelsen, will face off against each other in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Brisbane International. Korda began his campaign with a 7-6 (1), 6-3 win over Valentin Vacherot in the first round. In the second round, he won the first set 6-3 against the third seed and defending champion, Jiří Lehečka, before the Czech player retired in the second set, giving the win to the American.
On the other hand, Michelsen had to start his season with a tough three-set win over Australian qualifier James Duckworth in the first round, with the scoreline being 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-3 in favor of the American player. In the second round, he caused an upset, winning 6-4, 6-2 against the 8th seed and Next Gen champion, Learner Tien, and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Sebastian Korda vs. Alex Michelsen Match Details
Date: Jan. 8, 2026 (in ET)
Tournament: Brisbane International 2026
Round: Quarterfinals
Venue: Queensland Tennis Centre, Brisbane, Australia
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Hard
Live Telecast: Tennis Channel, TSN, Sky Sports
Korda vs Michelsen Head-to-Head
The two players have yet to meet on the ATP Tour; therefore, their head-to-head record stands at 0-0.
Korda vs Michelsen Prediction
In the one set he played against Lehečka, Korda dropped only four points behind his serve, having a 100 percent win rate behind his first serve. He won 37 percent of the return points, breaking the Czech player’s serve once in the match, to win the first set.
Michelsen won 82 percent of the first serve points and 72 percent of the overall service points in his previous match against Tien. The American player was effective during return games, winning 50 percent of the return points on the opponent’s second serve. He faced only one break point in the match, which he saved, and broke the opponent’s serve three out of the nine times he created a break point opportunity.
Korda had a 59 percent win rate on hard courts last year, with a runner-up finish in Adelaide being his best result on the surface. The Adelaide final was his seventh hard-court final in his career, with the American winning his sole hard-court title in Washington back in 2024.
Michelsen had an 18-18 win-loss record on hard courts last year, with the American’s best performance on the surface being semifinal finishes in Delray Beach and Almaty. His only hard-court final came at the 2024 Winston-Salem Open, where he lost 0-6, 3-6 against Lorenzo Sonego.
Both players are serve-dependent, so whoever plays better tennis at break-point opportunities will have the edge in the match. That being said, Korda is a former Top-15 player and is looking in good touch so far, and is the slight favorite to go through to the next round.
Pick: Korda to win in three sets
